NEW YORK — As the strikeouts piled up in Bo Bichette’s first series with the New York Mets at Citi Field, the boos arrived early.

Or late.

Depending on the perspective.

“If anything, I thought it took too long,” Bichette said after he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in the Mets’ 4-3 loss in 10 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. “I get it. I thought my at-bats were terrible, too.”

At that, at himself, Bichette laughed.

Not flippantly.

Bichette owned up to his struggles. His reaction to the boos, to the questions after just three games of his three-year, $126 million deal (he holds a player option after this season), reveals he might be the kind of star player who can handle the sport’s largest market.

In spring training, Bichette told The Athletic he embraced the idea of being held accountable. It didn’t take long to test his appetite.

Bichette is 1-for-14 with eight strikeouts. In two chances with runners in scoring position Sunday, Bichette went hitless.

Those things are very un-Bichette-like. In 2025, he struck out just 14.5 percent of the time. Over his career with runners in scoring position, he entered Sunday with a .899 OPS.

“He is missing good pitches early in counts, and then they are making him chase, especially at the top of the zone,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He is going to swing. He is going to go out there, and he is going to hack. He is a good hitter.”

Since Bichette agreed to his deal with the Mets in January, he said, he has wanted to create a moment. Clearly, he is pressing. Refreshingly, he admitted as much.

“I definitely felt that wanting to have a moment, not only for my teammates but for the fans and everything,” Bichette said. “It’s just something that I have to manage.”

Bichette’s failures to cash in with runners on base epitomized the Mets’ problem Sunday. They left a win on the table. The Pirates did not play well, also failing to produce with runners in scoring position. The Mets allowed them to hang around long enough to put a rally together in the 10th inning and then execute a perfect relay to nab Francisco Lindor at home plate to quell the Mets’ comeback bid. Mendoza planned to stay away from Devin Williams and Brooks Raley (who won’t pitch on back-to-back days early in the season), and the lineup failed to bail the team out.

With a runner on second base and one out in the 10th inning and the Mets trailing by one run, Bichette grounded out. Jorge Polanco, the next batter, flew out. Game over.

Bichette’s history suggests his moment will come. Last season, Bichette produced a career-best .840 OPS. He also boasted a .311 batting average with 18 home runs and 94 RBIs. Twice over his seven-year career with the Toronto Blue Jays, he led the American League in hits.

“He’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Lindor said. “He’s going to have a lot of big moments for us.”

Lindor is probably right, though not all star players who come to New York succeed. Some never get their moment. The level of scrutiny is different.

In Toronto, Bichette said he was booed “by random fans here and there.” The booing on Sunday came from more than a few stray voices. The cacophony was loud and clear.

For Bichette, New York is all new. That includes a new position, third base. Defensively, he has made one error with a couple of other inaccurate throws between Thursday and Saturday. Sunday was better. He was quick getting the ball out of his glove, and his throws, whether to second base or first base for outs, were perfect. He fielded a bunt with his bare hand cleanly and secured a catch in shallow left field. An hour before the game, he was the only player on the field with a couple of coaches taking extra ground balls.

Bichette gets it even if he is not used to it. That much is obvious. He gets that it is an adjustment, all of it. He gets that it requires work. He gets the booing. He gets the wanting. He gets that this is what he signed up for. It takes some players years to even figure that part out.

Now comes the other hard part, the part that really wins people over in New York City — he just has to perform.